Reasons To Be Pretty

        The Audience Experience

This is the third play I have been to. Before I even start with my audience interpretations, let me say I LOVED IT! I made the decision to go on the opening night. I thought it would be unique to choose that performance in relation to the other nights of its presentation, for two reasons. The first reason, which I could be wrong, but I thought about it, would be that this is their first night performing this particular play in front of the real deal; the audience. I figured watching the first performance would be different than say, watching the last performance, because of things that they might realize, like an outfit didn’t work out as well as they had thought it would, or a prop, maybe the setup of the seats was a foot too close to the stage, things of that nature. Learning from the trail of the first performance what can be worked on for the following ones. The second reason I chose opening night to see this play, was because of the audience size. As Professor Kershner had stated earlier this week, it may be harder to get a ticket toward the end of the weekend. I assumed from that, a smaller crowd would be attending on opening night. It might just be me, but when I choose to “people watch,” it’s easier for me to analyze individuals when the herd is thinned out.

As I had with Locomotion, I brought my younger brother with me so I could see how he felt about the show in comparison with the God awful Locomotion. Walking into the performance area I realized it had an arena stage setup with a bedroom like setting. I just stood there for a moment looking at the four seating sectionals. Deciding not only on which side of the bed I wanted to sit on to view the show, but also the elevation of the seating I felt comfortable with. I decided to go for a view with a lateral profile. My brother and I took a seat on the side of the bedroom that had women’s clothing on the floor. I sat ground level to be, in a sense, part of the actors world. The closer I am to the performance, the more I enjoy it. It’s a bit of a rush to have a flesh and blood story within arm’s reach. The audience was a lot larger than it was for Locomotion, my brother pointed out. I also had my first theatrical encounter with other audience members. An elderly couple sat down to my left and cracked some jokes with me as we waited for the show to start. They asked me if I was affiliated with the production of the play and I told them I was just a student that was present for homework purposes. I asked them if they were attending the play because they knew someone that was part of it. They informed me that they did not know anyone in Daytona State College, let alone anyone in the performance. They had seen an advertisement in a paper and have always enjoyed live theatre. They weren’t even from Florida; they were just here visiting family for the holidays. I guess I had a presumption that all these old people show up for plays at the News-Journal Center because they had grandchildren and whatnot in the play or behind the scenes. Now I realize, or at least I give thought to, the fact of older folks coming to these shows perhaps reflects a generation and geography in a sense. These older individuals, with us being in the retiree state, not only grew up with live performance as a more dominating form of entertainment, in comparison to what our kids entertain themselves with nowadays, but they also may have come from the states up north. Broadway in New York is 200 miles from Boston, MA and only 100 miles away from Philadelphia!

So to wrap up the audience experience, I found the play to be great. It hit me on a personal level, not only with the panic attack (no joke) I had at the beginning when two of the characters decided to rip one another apart with a barrage of harsh language, but also with the behavior of the characters in retrospect to my own life and experiences with people that behave such as they had in the play. The old people next to me left the play, never to return and very upset, during intermission. They didn’t know such “special” words were going to be thrown into their ears on that night. That made me like the play even more, I’m a bit dark, and so I find it amusing when people can’t handle particular adult situations and language. On a final note, I noticed that the character named Carly had a flashlight on her costume. It accidentally detached several times throughout the show and it was cool to watch how the actor reacted to it. She calmly incorporated these unscripted moments into her routine. After the show my brother told me he wanted to attend every show that DSC puts together during his whole time in college. I agree with him. Good or bad, I very much enjoy the act of analyzing these live performances. They are each unique and bring with them a new world, a 3D fairytale, into my life.

The Differences - Live Play versus Film

                Some Things Similar

Living theatre is different than a film. But they also have many similarities. The keyword is “live.” As I had said in the aforementioned article, “It’s a bit of a rush to have a flesh and blood story within arm’s reach.”  When going to see a play or a film, we can expect a lot of the same things to take place within the audience. First off, they both have a living audience. Let’s at least hope that the audience is living…. Next, for both live theatre and a film, we are expected to turn off our cell phones and behave accordingly. We know by the plays ad and the films rating, if we are bringing our children or if we are bringing a box of Kleenex. When watching a live performance, the laughter of the audience influences the smile I already have into a laugh as well. The same can be said of a comedy at the movie theater. Some plays have the audience in a sense, participate or be active in some way. Maybe the show asks everyone to dress in a specific outfit. Films have the same thing happen at times. New Star Wars movies bring a whole legion of storm troopers and Jedi to the ticket lines; the Rocky Horror Picture Show brings….some pretty interesting characters as well…

                Some Things Are Different

                Now comparing Reasons to Be Pretty with a film that is out at the movie theater shows a great deal of contrast. For one, the arena seating in Reasons to Be Pretty is very dissimilar to the proscenium style that movie theaters have. I can choose to sit within a 360 degree range of Reasons to Be Pretty, while a film is a flat surface that requires you to focus your attention in one specific direction. Film has been shot, edited, edited again, and so on until it has become a thing of permanence. You can turn a film on anywhere, at any time, in any decade, and it will be the exact same performance as it was at any other time or place. A live performance is never the same. Actors can be changed as well as, colors, costumes, lights, sounds, eras, and places. A play can be the same story and name but put together and performed in another country, with a different language and a different approach to fit the community that is viewing it.

                Lastly, on a personal note, I realized a live performance makes it much more awkward to get up and go to the bathroom, or in my case, calm down a racing heart and panic attack. The arena seating for Reasons to Be Pretty kept me trapped in a full circle view, within inches of the action. To stand up and walk out with so much focus from all angles just shouts “LOOK AT THAT GUY!” So I just did breathing exercises as inconspicuously as possible. And I thought about trying to sneak to the exit when the lights went down between scenes, but that was just asking for more trouble. I didn’t want to chance bumping into one of the actors or crew members, possibly trip over there props. It’s much easier to escape a movie theater than a live performance.

Analysis of Reasons to Be Pretty

                The Conflict & What the Characters Represent

                In Reasons to Be Pretty, I found the major conflict to be between Greg and the rest of the cast. Greg in a way represents the average individual. Steph represents that individual’s relationship/love life. Kent represents the typical guy friend and the guy you can BS with at work. And Carly represents a thin line of morality and consequences since she is the wife of Kent. By morality and consequences, what I mean to say is, for Greg to talk with Kent about Steph, Carly holds consequences if she hears anything that is of importance to share with her friend Steph. For morality, it’s the fact that, as a friend and as a sort of “guy code,” you don’t disclose certain things that have been discussed with your friends, to their significant other. Even though Greg and Kent had a fight, morality comes in again, as there is a strange sense of foreboding when Greg is contemplating on whether to tell Carly to go home and surprise Kent.

                The Climax & Resolution

                After Steph and Greg’s scuffle in the restaurant lobby and after Greg has a fight with Kent and ends their friendship, Greg is pretty much alone and can reflect on everything that has been happening. He tells Carly she should go home and see Kent to surprise him. Then he INSISTS she go home.

                What It Means To Me

                This play had a very impactful effect on me as part of the audience. I felt a connection between not only the actors, but also with the situations and elements that are present within the story. Many people perhaps share this feeling when it comes to their experience with this performance. Most people in relationships can identify with the opening act’s huge argument between the two characters Greg and Steph. I myself could identify with all aspects of Greg’s life. I believe that is why I enjoyed it so much. My brother looked at Greg as being an introverted guy that lets people walk over him, but I saw him as someone who was introverted but dealing with a lot of conflict that he just didn’t share with others. I saw him as a pretty strong character. His girlfriend moved out, his friend Kent is a complete dick, Carly is the one who told Steph what Greg had said in the first place, but she’s with Kent so Greg has to watch his dialogue when talking to Carly. His ex gets engaged, he loses a best friend, and he seemed to give off the vibe that he’d still keep moving forward nonetheless. I feel that Greg was a psychological character. The others were stock characters. As I associated Kent as being the “typical guy friend/ work buddy.” Steph as the “self-inflicted loss of a lover.” Carly as the “best friend's girl.”